pinion bearing going bad?

i noticed over the last 2 days i'm getting a slight slight whine from the rear of the vehicle when i'm on the throttle right around 62 mph. if i let off the gas, it disappears, or if i'm less than that speed or greater than that speed. i'm thinking the pinion bearing is starting to go since it changes when i'm on and off the throttle? i hope not...82K miles 2005 4x4 std cab.

 

sub'd for same noise.

 

bump

 

check your fluid level.open fill hole and if you can get any on your pinky(just slightly in the whole) finger your fine,btw,have you ever changed it before?

 

yeah i've changed it twice now, last time i changed it was about 3K miles ago i think. i changed it when i bought it at 39K, then again around 79K. i'm using mobil 1 syn 75-90

if its not snowing when i get off work i'll check the fluid level lol

 

could be the intake man, I noticed my intake is more audiable at higher speeds with my AFE filter and resonator removed.

 

The on power/off power noise description has been ring and pinion gear noise in my experience.

As stated, verify fluid level and verify fluid type.
If it persists you might want to have the R&P condition and backlash checked by someone competent.

The really noisy ones that I've been around had easily visible "galling".
The area where the gears mesh should be super smooth with a mirror-like finish.

Edit:
Usually more noise on "coast".

 

There is a TSB for the rear diff of my truck, it falls within the vin numbers for 2005 but my truck is way out of the 60K mile warranty. Toyota told me there was a noise about 10K miles ago(still put me out of the TSB warranty), but i never heard anything until just recently. They never said what was wrong, they just said they hear a noise. i'm starting to wonder if this is the noise they were talking about...

 

What exactly does this TSB repair/replace ?

 

i'll have to find the TSB, but they told me calls for replacing the whole third member/diff assembly.

 

here is the TSB. if its just a noise i can deal with noise, if its a bearing falling apart or something in the rear diff giving out i don't want to ignore it.


edit: i also just realized it calls for adding a bunch of sound deadening to the interior of the truck. sooooo if it comes back, you wont hear it then??? lol

 

i'm just posting stuff now as i think about it.... i'm wondering if it is a bearing problem or if in fact it is a rear diff problem. its probably cheaper for them to swap out the whole unit instaed of changing out the bearing which is why they call for it in the TSB. but, is the sound deadening just an extra measure in case it comes back? if thats the case (assuming it can come back) is it a problem at all or just a nuisance noise?

 

check the u joints and carrier bearing in the dshaft

 

new u joints and no carrier bearing (standard cab)

 

No, it must be ring and pinion gear noise. That's the primary source of rear end "whine".
Since they're replacing the whole 3rd member it must be R&P noise.
Also, they're not getting all of the noise, hence the "sound deadening" panels.

The tech that reported the noise initially, knew what he was hearing.

If it was mine, and the noise was persistent, I would have it inspected by a shop that specializes in drive train. You want a wizard, not a pretender.
They will probably want to pull the 3rd and put it on the bench.

Edit:
I think that some of the national vendors offer a 3rd member exchange program, which could be cost-effective, if it comes to that.
Always check all the easy stuff first, before diving into random "parts changing".

 

if its forsure in the diff it could be a bearing within the third, pinion bearing maybe the carrier bearing

 

You are out of warranty so find used third and just swapp it yourself. Make sure gear ratio on your used is the same.
Do that before your third explodes and you need more parts to fix this.
EDIT: your diff is 4.10 right. You are 4cyl.?

 

yes 4 cyl, 4.10 non locker. i have a gear set with a ring and pinion extra (not a whole third member and it has one broken spider gear) not sure how involved it is to repair those. IF i do need to replace the third i may just look at the cost of a used one.

for shits and giggles, if a R&P is making this noise, is it just a noise it makes or will it finally fail and cause me all kinds of problems down the road?

 

It's a crap shoot in a way, because if it's a bearing that is causing the R&P to lose its setting (and making the noise) and it (the bearing) fails the damage can be catastrophic....been there.....destroyed the third.

If it's just a poorly set up R&P making noise it could go on for thousands of miles, galling away and always getting louder.
Personally, I would have to fix it. It would bother the sh!t out of me.

Remember, R&P noise is a "whining" noise that changes pitch from power to coast modes.

 

If it is making noise it will fail at some point. Post the pic of failed spider gear, and which diff came from. I may have my old spider gears I removed on my 1gen when I installed lockright. If they fit and I find them you can have it. ( do you have 2 or 4 of them ?)
Problem is you dont know why your third is making noise so I would suggest getting whole third . Its making noise because gears are not aligning. That could be for any number of reasons. You are close to ECGS they can probably take a look but your best bet and cheapest option is to find 4.10 diff on junkyard and swap it yourself. Any one from 2005-2012 truck with 4.10 gears will fit. Not sure but I think even 1gen 4.10 diff will fit since those had the same rear.